1. The people in the lower economic tiers tend to be lesshealthy.....they smoke more, eat worse (worst obesity is among thepoor) and care less about their health. As such, even folks onMedicaid who are eligible for prenatal healthcare don't care enough toparticipate in the process. Further, they are more likely to smoke/drink while pregnant.

2. Single parents of newborns are much more prevalent among thepoor....again, a social/environmental problem...not a health caresystem one.

3. We have more NICU's per capita in this country than any othercountry. As such, many more "preemies".....who are much more likely todie.....are brought into this world that likely wouldn't have made itin other countries with less technology available per capita.

What I am NOT saying is that our health care system doesn' t needwork.

What I am saying is that you really need to look deeper into a problemthan what appears on the surface.

My two cents' worth.

On Oct 24, 5:55 am, "\"Lone Wolf\"" wrote:> US infant mortality rate now worse than 28 other countries> By Patrick O’Connor> 18 October 2008>> A report issued Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and> Prevention (CDC) documents how the infant mortality rate in the United> States is growing in relation to other countries. The study, "Recent> Trends in Infant Mortality in the United States," found that at least> 28 other countries now have lower death rates for infants in the first> year of life.>> The US's relative position has declined steadily. In 1960, it had the> 12th lowest infant mortality rate, but by 1990 had dropped to 23rd> place, and by 2004—the latest year of the CDC's comparative world> figures on living standards—the US ranked 29th. The most recent study,> published in July and titled "The Measure of America," estimated that> the US is now in 34th place.>> The CDC report found that there was no improvement in the incidence of> US infant deaths between 2000 and 2005, a "plateau in the US infant> mortality rate represent[ing] the first period of sustained lack of> decline in the US infant mortality rate since the 1950s." This "has> generated concern among researchers and policy makers," the report> noted.>> For the year 2000, the infant mortality rate was 6.89 per 1,000, a> rate that remained stagnant for five years before declining slightly> to 6.71 between 2005 and 2006.>> The CDC noted: "The impact of child mortality is considerable: there> are more than 28,000 deaths to children under 1 year of age each year> in the United States.">> Several countries in Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway, Finland) and East> Asia (Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore) have an infant mortality rate below> 3.5, almost half the US rate. The CDC's 2004 rankings placed the US in> a tie with Poland and Slovakia, and only marginally ahead of Puerto> Rico and Chile. The US was behind every developed country in North> America, Western Europe, and Australasia, as well as Cuba, Hungary,> Israel, and the Czech Republic.>> Infant mortality is a critical indicator of social progress. As the> CDC report explains, "Infant mortality is one of the most important> indicators of the health of a nation, as it is associated with a> variety of factors such as maternal health, quality and access to> medical care, socioeconomic conditions, and public health practices.">> This decline in world rankings is another expression of US> capitalism's decay. The gutting of social programs by successive> Democrat and Republican administrations over the last four decades has> led to an extraordinary social reversion. A tiny layer at the top has> enriched itself through the dismantling of all impediments to the> accumulation of private wealth and corporate profit, supported by tax> cuts and the slashing of investment in critical social infrastructure.> That infant mortality rates are now stagnating for the first time in> five decades underscores the accelerating character of the social> crisis.>> The CDC report documented the disparity of infant mortality rates> among racial classifications. "Non-Hispanic white," Latino, and Asian-> American children had lower than average rates, while "American Indian> or Alaskan Native," Puerto Rican, and "non-Hispanic black" families> had higher rates.>> The report noted, however, that the "infant mortality rate did not> change significantly for any race/ethnicity group from 2000 to 2005.">> In 2005, African-American infants suffered a death rate of 13.63 per> 1,000 births, by far the highest average. The CDC's 2004 world> rankings indicate that a black American baby would have a better> chance of survival if born in Russia (which has a rate of 11.5) or> Bulgaria (11.7).>> The CDC report did not assess infant mortality in relation to social> class or family income.>> Another study released earlier this month, however, documented this> correlation. Published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and> titled "America's Health Starts With Healthy Children: How do States> Compare?" the report found: "In almost every state, shortfalls in> health are greatest among children in the poorest or least-educated> households, but even middle-class children are less healthy than> children with greater advantages. Within each racial or ethnic group,> a steep income gradient is evident. Children's general health status> improves as family income increases.">> It also reported: "Nationally, and in every state, infant mortality> rates increased with decreasing levels of mothers' education." The> mortality rate for children whose mothers had completed 16 or more> years of school was 4.2 deaths per 1,000 births, compared to 7.8> deaths for children whose mothers had completed 11 years or less of> school.>> The failure to improve the infant death rate between 2000 and 2005> came despite significant advances in medical technology, including> care for prematurely born babies.>> What the CDC termed "preterm birth"—i.e., those at less than 37 weeks> gestation—is a key risk factor for infant mortality. In 2005, 69> percent of all infant deaths occurred to preterm babies. The report> stated: "The plateau in the US infant mortality rate from 2000 to 2005> was largely due to the combina­tion of the increase in the percentage> of very preterm births and the lack of decline in the infant mortality> rate for these births.">> Only those parents who can afford to pay for treatment can be sure> that their premature babies will receive the necessary care.> Similarly, many families are finding it increasingly difficult to> afford the advanced medical treatment which many infants require in> their first year. About 45 million Americans, or 15 percent of the> population, are now estimated to be without any form of health> insurance.>> At every level, corporate control over the health care system distorts> and undermines the rational provision of medical services. Per capita> US health spending was $6,714 in 2006, more than twice the average of> other advanced countries. But this spending has failed to improve the> population's health. Infant mortality is one indication of this;> another is the extraordinary fact that 41 countries now have a longer> life expectancy than does the US.>> Official per capita health spending figures are in fact misleading. If> the resources invested in genuine medical care and treatment were to> be calculated and compared, there is little doubt that the US would> rank far below many other countries. A substantial portion of> purported American health spending is simply siphoned off as profit by> the major health firms, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical> interests.--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum

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I was listening to the radio a few days back it was a show with Mark Simone sitting in for Sean Hannity ( I’m not the biggest fan of either) and he was interviewing a tomato. The subject at hand was Socialized Health Care.The tomato, aka Bob Beckle the very same person who ran Mondale’s campaign -some say he ran it into the ground but that’s unfair after all Mondale did barely win his own state- regurgitated two points that are at the top of the liberal repertoire of lies.1) The US has one of the worst infant mortality rate (IMR) .2) “I had preexisting conditions cannot get health insurance”Both those topics are easily manipulated by left wing scum bags who rely on sound bite size slogans to feed their lazy and ignorant minions need for justification of their bigoted anti-American agenda. My readers on the hand are thoughtful educated individuals who care about finding out the truth and therefore will have no trouble understanding how the media and the liberals are misrepresenting these two issues.The first one, the liberal lie that “The US has one of the worst infant death rate in the world” is the kind of bold face lie that only scum bags like Beckle still spews. The reality is that we have by far the best and highest infant survivability rate in the entire world probably better than France, Italy and Germany combined.Here is the how the lie is propagated.In most European countries the size of the baby determines if the baby is born alive or stillborn.Even in most “civilized” European nations such as Germany, Austria and France a live, kicking and screaming baby is reported as still borne, dead, if it weighs under 1.1025 pound ( 500 grams).Other European countries , such as Switzerland, require that the fetus must be at least 30 centimeters (12 inches) long to be declared “alive”In France and Belgium additional RULES require that a baby be at least 26 weeks old to be declared alive.In less “civilized” countries such as Russia and some of its former satellites the size requirement is 2.205 pounds ( 1000 grams) less that 28 weeks or less than 14 inches ( 35 cm) or failed to survive 7 days. If those conditions were not met the baby was declared still born.In many countries the death of a 12 month old infant is just registered as a death of a 13 month old baby and thus no longer part of the IMR.“Another seemingly paradoxical finding is that when countries with poor medical services introduce new medical centers and services, instead of declining the reported IMRs often increase for a time.”Further more there is the deliberate inaccurate reporting of infant vs. stillborn deaths in most of the world. If we add to that the exceptionally high rate of abortions performed, even just late term abortions than the picture takes a ghastly turn towards some sort of Hieronymus Bosch living hell and the EU hospitals can be easily characterized as abattoirs.Please Click On the Adds So We can Stick Around a Bit Longer